Topic 3, Mendelian Genetics

1. Gregor Mendel
   A. Experimental design
   B. Reasons why the garden pea was an excellent choice for his experimental organism
   C. Self-fertilization(self) vs. cross-fertilization (cross)
   D. How he determined if each variety was true-breeding
   E. The seven traits he selected
   
   
2. Mendel's monohybrid crosses
   A. True-breeding tall x true-breeding dwarf, F1 and F2 progeny, reciprocal crosses
   B. Definitions of gene, allele, locus
   C. Mendel's first 3 postulates (collectively referred to as Mendel's first law)
       1) Unit factors in pairs
       2) Dominance/recessiveness
       3) Segregation
   D. Punnett square
   E. The F3 generation
   F. Backcrosses of the F1s (and testcrosses)
   G. The forked line (or branched diagram) method
   
   
3. Mendel's dihybrid crosses
   A. F1 and F2 results
   B. Mendel's fourth postulate (independent assortment), also referred to as Mendel's second law
   C. The forked line method for combining probabilities
   D. Backcrosses of F1s (and testcrosses)
   
   
4. Mendel's trihybrid crosses
   
   
5. Some useful mathematical rules
   
   
6. Independent assortment can provide an immense amount of variability
   
   
7. Rediscovery of Mendel's work in 1900 by DeVries, Correns, and Tschermak
   A. Possible reasons that Mendel's work went undiscovered for 34 years
   
   
8. Independent assortment of nonhomologous chromosomes explains Mendel's fourth postulate
   A. Following genes on chromosomes through meiosis
   
   
9. Laws of probability
   A. Product law
   B. Sum law
   C. Binomial theorem
   D. Chi square (to be discussed in lab)
   
   
10. Pedigrees (family histories)
    A. Symbolism used
    B. Example 1, polydactyly (autosomal dominant)
    C. Example 2, albinism (autosomal recessive)
    D. Limitations

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        Updated 9/28/99